


The Good GLITCH Azura

by arrowaceofspades



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Bisexual Disaster Luz Noceda, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gay Disaster Amity Blight, No Spoilers, Swearing, The Owl House x Glitch Techs Crossover, i have no idea im sorry, no one dies I promise, okay it says enemies but its more like luz makes a big oopsie and amity wants nothing to do with her, they'll just get a lil roughed up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26144641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arrowaceofspades/pseuds/arrowaceofspades
Summary: Eda promised herself she wouldn’t let Luz get involved with the Glitch Techs, and yet...orThe Owl House and Glitch Techs Crossover that NOBODY asked for except for me.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 17
Kudos: 50





	1. Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> okay yeah i have like no explanation or outside inspiration for this sjdiuhads im just a huge fucking cartoon and video game nerd and just love both series so much and i wanted to write the owl house characters in the glitch techs universe. it will have no connection to the canon of either series (aside from the dynamics of the owl house characters, the rules of the glitch techs universe and the games of glitch techs). 
> 
> i didn't tag glitch techs cause idk if im supposed to? it has like 0 connection to glitch techs aside from having glitches and glitch techs and the same video games... ill tag it if i decide to bring some of the glitch techs characters in permanently i guess.
> 
> with that said: the characters in this series are all aged up slightly, to like 15/16, because thats the age of the glitch tech main characters, and i really cant imagine a bunch of 14 year olds and like one 12 year old working as retail workers or glitch techs haha.

Soft morning sunlight filters through the blinds, warming Luz’s face and finally forcing her to open her eyes. Birds twittering beside her window sill, mocking her. 

Luz rolls over groggily, seeing a bright red 11:34AM through the fog of sleep. 

_Oh, shoot!_

Okay, so maybe that isn’t morning sunlight, and _maybe_ staying up until 5 AM to play the newest Flunky Quest Go! game wasn’t the smartest idea. But, it had allowed her to catch some rare late night flunkys, so it was beyond worth it. 

Luz jumps out of bed and pulls on some old band T-shirt and athletic shorts, not even bothering to fix her hair or put on make-up, and runs into the bathroom to brush her teeth and take her meds. 

She grabs her phone and nearly trips in her hurry to get down the stairs, tearing through the empty house like a tornado. 

There are two objects waiting for her on the fridge--a chore circle pointing to Luz’s crudely drawn face and a note from Eda about where to find the breakfast she cooked up this morning--but she breezes past them. 

She snaps one of the bananas off the bunch and grabs her house key off the owl shaped key dish, and is out the door and speeding down the street on her skateboard by 11:50. 

The scenery changes from rolling suburbs to busy city streets, and Luz is forced to brave the rest of the journey on foot as the crowds thicken. 

Bonesborough really was a beautiful city--unbearably hot and stifling in the summer, but beautiful nonetheless. 

She eats her breakfast (lunch?) as she goes, weaving through the crowd without much grace and just barely avoiding smacking everyone in the knees with her skateboard. 

Luz drops her banana peel in a can on the side of the street and continues without pausing, finally spotting the big neon “Boiling Isles Video Arcade” sign in the distance. 

A huge smile splits her face. 

The person at the front counter recognizes her, immediately breaking into a grin to rival Luz’s. “Another 50 plays?” 

“You betcha!” 

Luz pulls out her phone and pays with Eda’s card.

The employee (she can’t for the life of her remember his name. Tibbles? Yeah that doesn’t sound right) hands her an arcade card. “Have fun! Remember to turn your card back in when you leave!” 

“Thanks, I will.” 

Luz can feel her veins pulsing in excitement as she opens the door into heaven, immediately spotting her favorite game machine. 

_Hello, paradise._

She cracks her knuckles, immediately heading toward the Smashozaurs machine. She'd beaten the final boss _many_ times, both at this arcade and the city she used to live in, but it was like an addiction--she kept on going right back to play it all over again. 

In her defense, dinosaurs with freaking mecha suits that battle to the death is one of coolest ideas, if not _the_ coolest idea, for a game ever in the history of the universe.

Beating up monsters as an armed raptor is also surprisingly therapeutic, as she's found. Lets the stress drain away in seconds, leaving nothing but relaxation and fun times.

It's also a valid substitute for having real friends. No matter what anyone says.

_Yep, not going down that slippery slope in public._ Luz thinks, forcing her mind onto a different topic, her body still moving the controller and killing enemies subconsciously.

She beats Smashozaurs (to the surprise of absolutely no one), and continues on to the next machine. 

Playing until she's on the leader-board and moving on to the next, gathering quite the following watching her play as she went along (it was one of the only times she ever truly felt like she wasn't a failure). Over and over, game after game, hour after hour, until she ran out of plays on her card and the crowd dispersed, and she slid her card in the collection bin on the way out.

She glances at the time on her phone. 4PM. Still three hours or more to burn until her mom or Eda would be home (at the earliest). 

So, Luz walks down the streets, occasionally going into stores to browse until she got kicked out for loitering, buying candy and snacks to munch on while she goes (all off Eda's credit card). Until she makes it to the park on the outskirts of town, a 30 minute walk away from her house. 

It's quiet here, among the trees and the fountains and the gardens. The sounds of the city a distant memory that she eventually has to return to. 

She stops to sit on a park bench as the sun gets lower on the horizon, just breathing in the sweet scent of nature and life. 

Luz's phone buzzes in her pocket, and she rushes to check it. 

_Eda (6:49): Got home early. Where are you?_

_Luz (6:50): At the park. I'll be back in like 30 minutes._

_Eda (6:50): Be safe. Don't hesitate to shank anyone who tries to come near you._

Luz laughs quietly, deciding not to tell Eda she forgot to bring the pocket knife she gave her for her 14th birthday. It would only break her heart. 

\-- -- -- 

Luz opens the door to see Eda in front of the sink with her messy red hair tied back in a ponytail, scrubbing away at the dishes. 

She looks up to see Luz standing in the door and breaks out into a grin, golden tooth catching the sunlight.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry Eda, it completely slipped my mind--” 

“It’s fine, kid. Did you have fun at the arcade? And at the park?"

“Yeah, I did. Still, I should’ve done my chores first…” 

“It’s fine, I don’t mind. Oh, and that came in the mail for you today, by the way.” 

Eda points with a sudsy finger toward a manila envelope laying on the counter, and Luz cocks her head in confusion. “I didn’t order anything.” 

She meets Eda’s gaze. She shrugs and goes back to doing the dishes. 

Luz picks it up quietly. It weighs next to nothing. “Are you sure your sister didn’t send us a prank through the mail, or something, and disguise it by addressing it to me?”

“Oh, no. _That’s_ Lilith’s mail.” Eda nods toward a box peeking out of their trash can. She clicks her tongue sadly, shaking her head. “She’s always been terrible at forgery.” 

Luz has no idea how to respond to that, so she doesn’t.

She tears open the package, dumping the contents onto her hand. It’s a little red bracelet, with the word “SunWitch” engraved on the side.

Luz’s train of thought comes to a screeching halt. 

_That’s my gamertag… THAT’S MY GAMERTAG. OH MY GOD._

It was all the people in the arcade could talk about, a big Hinobi tournament that all of the best gamers across all their systems would be invited to. 

Apparently, Luz is one of those people. 

“Oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, _oh my god_.” 

“ _What_? What is it? What’s it say?”

“It’s one of the bracelets! To be invited to the Hinobi game tournament!” Luz feels herself get light headed, and jumps onto the couch to bury her face in the pillows and scream. 

“That’s great, kiddo! I had no idea you were that good.” 

Luz feels Eda ruffle her hair and accepts it without complaint. 

Suddenly she bolts upright, startling Eda into nearly dropping her mug of apple juice (when did she even get that?). 

“You _can’t_ tell Mamí about this.”

“What, you think this is my first rodeo, kid? I wasn’t planning on it.” 

“And if I win, I’ll get to work at the Hinobi store with you!” 

Eda’s smile drops for a second, so quick Luz almost thought she’d imagined it. “Oh. Oh, that’s right.” 

_Ooooooookay, that’s fricking weird._

Another one of Eda’s signature hair ruffles, but this time Luz bats her hands away with a groan. “Eda! My hair is already messy enough.” 

“Better win so I can fuck your hair up at work too.” 

Luz gasps. “Swear Jar. Now.” 

Eda fishes a quarter out of her pocket and drops it into the jar, rolling her eyes. “Can’t believe you guys got that just for me.” 

“How else am I supposed to get enough quarters to buy you and Mamí lunch?” 

“By getting a job.” 

“If I win this competition, I _will_. But we’re still not getting rid of the swear jar.” 

Eda groans, throwing her head back in annoyance. “Fine. I guess I’ll just have to clean my vocabulary.” 

“That’s never gonna happen.” 

She sighs. “I know.” 

Eda’s watch(?) blares an alarm at her, and she sighs again. “Duty calls. You gonna take care of dinner tonight?” 

Luz’s heart sinks a little in her chest.

She puts on a smile anyways. “Sure. Just don’t be home too late!” 

“No promises.” Eda smirks, closing the door behind her. 

The house is silent again. 

Luz can't stand it. So she leaves. 

She grabs her skateboard and rides off, already with a destination in mind. 

_Hope they’re okay with fusion food._

\-- -- --

Eda arrives back home two hours later, and Camilia still isn’t home. 

There’s a note from Luz on the microwave. 

_“I got Mexican/Korean fusion food. It’s in the fridge. Warm it up when you get home.”_

None of her usual cute doodles are present, nor the flowery language she’s so fond of using. She’s definitely upset. 

The door swings open behind her, and she nearly jumps out of her skin, hand hovering above her gauntlet, but it’s just Camilia. 

She gives Eda a weak smile as she toes off her shoes, catching sight of Luz’s purple note in Eda’s hands. 

“Did she make dinner or get take out?” 

Eda discreetly puts the note in the pocket of her work clothes. “Take out.”

“Ah, okay. I’m gonna go change, can you warm it up for me?” 

Eda nods quietly, watching Camilia disappear up the stairs. 

Her phone buzzes insistently in her pocket, her employees texting her about the absolute catastrophe that had just occurred in their headquarters. 

Eda just reads through them for a bit and puts her phone on do not disturb mode. It’s unprofessional, sure, but the word “professional” wouldn’t touch Eda with a ten meter pole. Neither would most of her exes, to be completely honest.

Camilia finally comes back downstairs, and Eda realizes she hasn't even warmed up the food yet and scrambles to shove it in the microwave. 

“I think she’s asleep already.” Camilia whispers.

Eda’s mind immediately translates into: _she was playing games (possibly on the new console Eda had just brought her) and heard her mom come up the stairs and hid it and pretended to be asleep._

Somehow, it makes her feel even worse. 

The microwave beeps cheerfully, and Eda pulls out their food and sets it on the table, where there were already two sets of silverware and plates. A third place mat sat beside Eda’s, bare of any utensils. 

_Luz’s._

Eda ate in silence, lost in thought.

Eda promised herself she wouldn’t let Luz get involved with the Glitch Techs. It was dangerous, with far too many shady people and ways Luz could get hurt, or even die (not many Glitch Techs ever had, but Luz had a clumsy streak that could be potentially life threatening in a bind). 

Luz’s safety was her number one priority. The reason she never allowed any Glitch Techs to take missions in their subdivision. Just so that she could ensure the job was taken care of quietly, and that Luz would never have to have her mind wiped. 

She promised herself, and yet… If Luz is good enough to get an invitation to the Hinobi gaming tournament even with all the restrictions her mother places on her electronics time per week, maybe Eda had been wrong in all her assumptions. 

Luz definitely had fast reflexes, something she herself had observed plainly, and was definitely smart enough. 

But the ability to work under pressure? To fight and survive with no respawn to fall back on? These were all things that the Hinobi tournament was set up to test. 

Eda made up her mind.

She finished her food and put her dishes in the sink, bidding Camilia goodnight as she went.

She made sure to tread carefully, and heard the telltale sounds of a Hinobi gaming console coming from Luz’s room. 

Eda knocked on the door three times in rapid succession, their special knock signal.

The sounds stopped, and the door opened to reveal a disheveled Luz in sleep clothes, looking exhausted and dejected. 

“Hey, kiddo. Can I come in?” 

Luz didn’t respond, but stepped out of the way to let Eda pass. 

Eda sat on Luz’s bed, while Luz closed the door softly. She made no attempts to go any closer to Eda. 

“You weren’t home for dinner.” 

Eda sighs softly. “I never said I would be.” 

“I was worried.” Luz admits quietly, not meeting Eda’s eyes. 

Her heart twists.

“I’m driving you tomorrow.”

“..What?” 

“To the Hinobi game tournament. I’m the manager of the branch, I’m already expected to be there.” 

Luz’s bright smile came back, but her eyes still looked sad. “Really?”

“Really. And I’ll be right there to watch you win the tournament.” 

“What are we gonna do if I win? Tell my mom I suddenly decided to work at Hinobi?” 

“We’ll just tell her I offered you a job and you accepted. Doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that.” 

Luz mulls it over a little longer, trying to find a flaw in the plan. "That sounds... like an actually good idea."

Eda grins. "Hah! See, I do have some smart ideas sometimes."

Luz suddenly envelops Eda in a hug, and Eda pats her softly on the back. 

“Thank you so much.” 

“Don’t mention it, kiddo.”


	2. The Spirit of Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new foe has appeared!  
> Challenger approaching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back by popular demand 
> 
> it's 4am. school is kicking my ass. this is unbeta'd, if you find any mistakes feel free to let me know.

Luz kisses her mother on the cheek before they leave the next morning, Eda already waiting with her car keys in her hand. 

“Thank you for driving her, Eda.” Camilia says quietly, that ever present tiredness in her eyes.

“It’s no big deal. Kid wants to go and I  _ have _ to go, so it only seemed logical.”

Camilia smiles conspiratorially, and leans towards Luz to whisper, “Keep Eda out of trouble for me, okay?” 

Luz gives a two fingered salute, barely managing to keep a straight face for 5 seconds before she broke out into a grin again. “Will do, ma’am!” 

When she drops her arm again, she pulls slightly on her hoodie sleeve, feeling to make sure the bracelet was still under there, and that this isn’t a dream. 

_ This is really happening, isn’t it? _

Luz practically vibrated in place, overflowing with excitement, and Eda clocks it immediately. 

“Well, we better get going, or we’re gonna be late. Or Luz will explode, whichever one comes first.” She says with a lopsided smile, and Luz gasps, offended.

“I will not--” 

“Haha, bye Camilia see you later!” Eda practically shoves Luz out the door.

The door closes behind them, Camilia still smiling and waving from the window. 

“Why’d you have to shove me? You’re mean.” Luz complains, rubbing her shoulder. 

This is the first time Luz has ever left before her mom. It feels wrong.

Eda takes one look at her outfit, and grimaces. “Uh. Kid, I wasn’t gonna say anything, but I don’t think a sweatshirt and sweatpants is the best choice for the weather we’re having.”

“How else was I gonna hide the bracelet from my mom?” Luz hisses.

“...By putting it in your pocket like a normal person?”

Luz falls silent. “I didn’t think of that.” 

Eda facepalms, but unlocks her car anyways. An old beat up van that she’s probably been driving since the dawn of the dinosaurs. 

“Also, you’re one to talk about ‘normal people’, Miss I Break the Law Everyday!”

“Ugh, I said that  _ once  _ are you  _ ever _ gonna let that go?” Eda groans.

Luz rolls her eyes and gets in the front seat next to Eda. “Dramatic.” 

“That’s rich, coming from you.” 

Luz just sticks her tongue out. Eda returns the gesture with too much enthusiasm, laughing heartily at Luz’s disgusted expression. 

“You just spit in my face.” 

“Oh, boohoo. You’ll have to deal with much worse from those stuck up assholes in the Nobi Smash Tournament.” 

Luz frowns. “You’re so lucky I haven’t made a Car Swear Jar yet.” 

“Oh, come on, Luz! Lighten up a little. This is a big day for you!” 

Luz toys with the edges of her hoodie. “That’s exactly why I’m so tense. What if I mess up? Publicly. In front of thousands of people.”

Eda snorts. “ _ Thousands _ of people? We can barely fit 200.”

“It’s gonna be broadcasted! Live! On TV!”

“Eh, whatever. Not like those nerds can play any better than you can.” Eda shrugs, and takes a hand off the wheel to ruffle Luz’s hair (God, when will she ever  _ stop doing that _ ?). “You’re the best of the best, kiddo.”

Luz hides her blush by turning away to look out the window, grumbling. “Just focus on driving, you madwoman.” 

Eda laughs heartily again, but doesn’t bother her for the rest of the car ride. 

At some point, Luz apparently completely spaces out, because when Eda snaps in front of her face to get her attention, suddenly the Hinobi building is right there outside her window. 

“Hello? Anyone home?”

Luz blinks, the reality of the situation smacking into her like a tidal wave along with an intense feeling of paranoia. 

_ Yep! This is really happening. _

They’re about two hours early, as Luz agreed to help set up and Eda apparently needed an extra set of hands. 

Eda and Luz head into the store quickly (with minor troubles getting the van to lock), and are immediately bombarded by Eda’s employees. 

“Yo, Bosswoman, where do you want these headsets to go?” A boy with dark green hair immediately calls out, holding a big box of… well, headsets.

“Just set them on the stage for now, we have more important things to be worrying about.” 

He does as is asked of him, and then hops down off the stage to join two girls with green hair, all of them bearing a striking resemblance and golden eyes. He clasps the smallest of the green haired kids on the back, and she nearly falls over and starts shouting at the boy angrily. 

Eda catches the direction of her gaze, and smirks a little. “Those are the Blight siblings. They just started working for me a couple weeks ago. They certainly liven the place up, that’s for sure.” 

Luz suddenly realizes how little about Eda’s job she knows.

She wants to ask more questions, but a girl with a fish hook earring suddenly shows up next to them and whispers something to Eda. She sighs. 

“I’m gonna go into the back, alright? Why don’t you go over and talk to the Blights and see if they need any help setting stuff up? Jerbo and Barcus should be here to help you out soon.” 

Luz didn’t recognize either of those names, but she just shot her a thumbs up and a reassuring smile. 

Eda returns the smile, and turns to walk back into the main store with Fish Hook hot on her tail.

Luz looks at the Blight siblings again, still fighting and struggling and screaming, and swallows down her nerves. 

_ Just go talk to those terrifyingly attractive people Luz! It’s not hard! You’ll only make a fool of yourself like 40 times! _

She sighs heavily, slowly creeping her way over to them nervously.

“I give up! I give up! Let go of my pinkie, you monster!” The boy screeches, his pinkie being wrenched backward by the smallest Blight. The other girl is just laughing hysterically, wiping tears from her eyes. 

The other girl is the first to notice her (slow) approach, immediately grinning. Something about the smile was unnerving. “Hey, cutie.” Luz can feel the heat rush to her ears. “You must be Luz. My name’s Emira.”

The boy immediately stops screaming, his eyes sparkling with the same unnerving  _ something  _ that permeated Emira’s smile. 

“What’s up?”

The smallest Blight snorts, finally releasing his pinkie. “You think you’re so smooth.” 

“I don’t  _ think  _ I am. I  _ know  _ I am.” He slicks his hair back with an exaggerated wink, but it immediately flops back into place.

Luz continues standing awkwardly as the two of them start bickering again, gaze darting between the both of them.

Emira rolls her eyes. “These dumbasses are my siblings. Amity is the one with the li’l brown roots, and Edric is the stupid one.”

Edric gasps, placing a hand over his chest. “How could you say something so cruel about me? Your twin brother? Your  _ favorite  _ brother?”

“Our only brother.” Amity says quietly.

“Wow. I see I’m unwanted here! I’ll just take my handsome self over there then!”

“Have fun!” Amity calls after him, immediately turning all of her attention directly onto Luz. She self-consciously wipes her hands on her sweatpants.

“You’re Eda’s daughter? Luz?” 

She nods quietly, not trusting herself not to stutter. 

Emira grins. “You’re a lot cuter than I thought you’d be. Mittens, don’t you think she’s adorable?” 

Amity (Mittens?) scoffs. “You’re a creep.”

Emira’s smile only gets bigger. “Are you avoiding the question?” 

“Sure. She’s absolutely, completely, utterly  _ adorable _ . There, you happy? Does she look uncomfortable enough for you yet?”

“Mm, you definitely got it a li’l closer.”

“Blights! That doesn’t look like setting up!” Eda shouts from across the room, shoving a pouting Edric in their direction.

Luz jumps into action, picking up some of the blockers and following after Emira like a lost puppy. Which, she could technically be classified as at this moment.

“Sorry about Mittens.” Emira says, setting down her posts and beginning to connect the little strip of (is that fabric? What are these things even made of?) between them. “She’s a little mean, to, well, everyone. I wouldn’t take anything she says too personally.” 

“She didn’t seem that bad.” Luz mumbles, putting down her posts as well. Emira grins.

“So you  _ do  _ speak.”

Luz feels heat rise to her cheeks, for the 50th time since she met Emira. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it.” She goes quiet for a minute, just working on setting up the barriers with Luz. “So, are you nervous?”

“Yeah, very. I don’t think I’ve ever played Nobi Smash, so I’ll probably lose immediately.” 

“Aw, I’m sure it’ll be fine. The VR stuff is pretty intuitive.”

Luz stops dead, her train of thought screeching to a halt. “It’s  _ VR _ ?”

Emira chuckles nervously. “Uh, yes?” 

Time to panic. 

“I’ve never played VR before! Oh my god, I’m so freaking dead.” 

“Woah, woah, hey, chill out, it’ll be okay! Just hold on a second.” 

Fish Hook is walking by, and Emira immediately focuses on her. “Babe, c’mere!” 

Fish Hook blushes a little bit at the pet name, but walks over anyways. “What’s up, Emmy?” 

“I need you to teach Luz how to use the VR headset.” 

“ _ What _ ?” Both Luz and Fish Hook say at the same time. 

“Come on, Viney, she’s never used VR before, it’d be terrible for her to get all the way here and fail because she doesn’t know how to use VR.” 

Viney’s eyes widen. “Never?” 

Luz nods miserably. 

“Damn. Alrighty, come with me. ED! COME HELP EM OUT WITH THE BARRIERS!”

They head up onto the stage, finding the box Edric left up there easily, Viney taking one out and putting some new batteries in it. 

“Alright, just put these over your ears, and the visor will kick on when you press this button.” 

Luz does as instructed, immediately pulled into the game and nearly falling flat on her ass from the sudden sounds. 

_ “You good?” _ Viney’s voice comes from somewhere far away, and she nods, jostling her visor slightly. 

_ “OK, so normally you’d have a sensor or remote of some kind, but this stage doubles as a VR sensor and a place to watch the competitors, so just move around, punch, do whatever your heart desires, and your character will do that in game too. _

_ “For Nobi Smash specifically, you will have a ball that you can fire at players to kill them, and call back to you. It will be on whatever your non-dominant hand is.”  _

“I’m ambidextrous.” 

Viney chuckles.  _ “Any preferences then?” _

“Hm. How about the left hand?” 

Her left hand is suddenly a weird dragon head looking gun with a crystallized ball held between the dragon’s teeth. “Woah!”

_ “To shoot, make a fist with the gun hand. To call the ball back to you, turn your fist over.” _

“Huh. That’s easier than I thought it would be.” 

Viney laughs again.  _ “It’ll be a lot harder in the actual game. You might knock into a few people while playing, but I wouldn’t worry too much about that, more than 65% of players are knocked out within the first 5 minutes. _

_ “And remember, there are no respawns. So whoever dies stays dead.” _

Perhaps she intended for that to be comforting. It most definitely wasn’t.

Luz takes off the headset, and attempts to give it back to Viney, but she just holds up a hand with an easy smile. “Keep it. One less person I have to give one out to when the tournament starts.”

Luz tries to smile back, but her nerves get in the way. 

“Hey, it’ll turn out fine, alright? If you’ve got even a fraction of Eda’s skill, you’ve got this, easy.”

“Viney! I need you over here.” Eda pokes her head in the door, looking far more stressed than Luz had ever seen her. 

“Aaand that’s my cue to leave. Good luck out there, Luz! It was nice meeting you.”

Luz waves shyly, Viney hopping down off the stage and running over to Eda. 

The Blight siblings are over talking to two boys, one with brown hair and the other with shaggy red, with Edric practically draped all over the brunet. 

_ Great to see that nobody is safe from those demons’ flirting. _

With nothing else to do, Luz decides to explore around the store, ducking under the barriers and examining all the products still displayed on the shelves.

There’s a ridiculous amount of VR headsets, all with a jaw dropping price tag. Yeah, Eda was right not to buy one for Luz.

“Hey, kiddo. How you doin’?” 

Luz whips around to see Eda had snuck up behind her. “Fine, I guess.”

“How do you like my employees?” 

Luz struggles to find the proper words, and Eda snorts. 

“A bit much, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it. They’re all really nice, though!” 

“Nah, that’s just your power. Everyone who meets you will immediately die for you.” 

Luz scoffs. “You sure you aren’t just projecting?” 

Eda shrugs with a lopsided smile. “So what if I am?”

“You’re crazy.” 

“I think you mean  _ charming _ .”

“Nope.”

Eda’s watch beeped at her again, and she smiles tiredly. “We’re opening up the doors soon. Go on over to Viney and get officially scanned in so we can get this show on the road as soon as possible.” 

Luz nods, and runs off, hearing the crowds of people milling about just behind the door. 

_ It’s now or never. _

Viney scans her bracelet in, the large screens above her displaying a huge picture of her in game avatar, and her stats. She cringed when she saw the “Level 1” in the corner, and the zeroes all across the board.

That’s not very encouraging.

A flood of people come in, already whispering about her less than stellar stats, until more contestants come in and bury her in the crowd. 

She lets out a sigh of relief once the attention is no longer all on her on stage.

Can’t be getting nervous now, Luz. Just shake it out, get your head in the game.

She puts on her VR headset, this time expecting the sudden shift into the digital world, and finds herself on a big beginning platform with a bunch of other people.

_ 65% of people die within the first 5 minutes. You just have to not be one of those people. _

Easier said than done.

It doesn’t take long for all of the contestants to get logged in, a couple showing up from home. She recognizes a few famous gamers in the group, but she doesn’t dare go up to them and say anything. 

She is  _ very  _ aware of just how much of a loser she looks like at this moment. No stats, level one. She looks like a complete noob, and she is one.

The game starts sooner than she would’ve liked, the entire group suddenly surging forward and jumping to the next platform. A couple of people miss it, falling into the abyss below and dying. 

Luz is just barely able to clear it, and dodges a ball that comes flying directly at her head. 

She fires hers blindly, hearing a cheerful little ping and seeing a number where the person was once standing.

_ Holy shit. _

More projectiles are immediately flying towards her, so she calls her ball back, jumping onto another platform and watching the massacre happening below her. 

Viney definitely wasn’t lying.

One of the survivors notices her and takes a shot at her, and she ducks and immediately runs away as fast as she can. 

Anyone who can survive that craziness is beyond her current skill level.

She gets a snipe on someone, and catches someone else's ball, throwing it straight back at the person and getting a double kill. 

Luz calls her ball back, continuing along and cleaning up stragglers of bigger fights, getting into a rhythm until she suddenly levels up. 

_ Taking learning on the job a li’l too seriously. _

She can see the final platform in the distance, a huge samurai looking robot waiting for her there. 

Another crystal ball comes flying straight for her head, and she steps aside and kills the idiot with one swift shot.

She continues on, jumping between the platforms and killing people here and there, leveling up twice more before she even makes it to the final platform, seeing all the pro gamers from before standing there on the final platform with her.

Immediately, everyone locks in on her, the easiest target, and she stumbles onto the weird moving puzzle thing. 

The block she’s standing on lights up, and she’s able to jump off before it bursts into a column of flame. 

More crystal balls come after her, and it’s all she can do to dodge death by fire and other players, nearly falling flat on her face a bunch of times. 

That is, until she literally falls flat on her face. 

She scrambles to her feet, ready to run for it, but instead of fire, the little symbol on the block lights up a pleasant baby blue. 

Luz looks around, seeing the other people all locked in bitter combat, their attention anywhere but on her. 

Then she looks up at the robot, and sees the symbol change from the one she’s on to a new one. 

_ Oh! _

Ignoring everyone else, she starts to search for the symbols, narrowly avoiding death by fire and stray projectiles multiple times, until she reaches the final symbol. 

Suddenly, the block started to raise up in the air, and a ball came flying at her, just barely missing her. 

She whips around, seeing the sole person left, looking absolutely pissed. 

Luz ducks under another ball, watching a big ball of light form above the robots head, enticing her to shoot at it. 

The person jumps up and grabs the block, and Luz gasps in shock. 

She recognizes his gamertag. Mattholomule, notorious asshole in the gaming community, but frustratingly good at what he does. 

He tries to take another shot at her, and she dodges again, shooting the ball of light with ease, and a huge number forms in the air. 

_ “WINNER: SUNWITCH!” _

_ Wait, what? _

“NO!” Mattholomule screams, pulling himself onto the platform and trying to punch her. 

She shoves him off out of pure reflex, and he falls into the abyss and dies, screeching loudly in rage the whole way down.

It takes a minute to register in her brain, and then she’s the one screaming. 

“FUCK YES!”

She pumps her fist in the air, heart thumping loudly in her ears and adrenaline flooding her veins.

Luz takes off her VR headset and drops it to the floor, immediately jumping off the stage and launching herself into Eda’s arms and wrapping her up in a bear hug. 

“You did it! You fucking did it! You won!” 

“I fucking did it!” 

Luz can’t stop laughing and smiling, tears of happiness pricking at her eyes. Her face muscles are starting to cramp up. 

_ This day couldn’t possibly get any better. _

“We’re getting that dairy-free sorbet you like to celebrate this!”

_ Looks like I was pleasantly surprised. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #LETLUZSWEAR2020 also yes she is a hypocrite but thats okay because we love her anyways
> 
> next chapter is when we finally get into the proper story. however, i have a poll for yall: would you like king to be a human (and luz's little brother), or would you like him to be a particularly intelligent companion pet. the results won't change the story much, so i thought i'd give you the option to choose between them.

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment, kudos, whatever if u enjoyed! it makes my day
> 
> don't know how many chapters this is gonna have, but more should be out soon!


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